Chapter Three
Lilyan chocked, something pressuring her around the neck, she coughed as she placed her hand around her neck, gasping for air but she couldn't breath.
Mist danced around her, making her feel more suffocated while the pressure around her neck increased. She tried to move but she couldn't.
She slapped around her neck but there was nothing around, however she felt it. She felt those hands increasing pressure as they strangle her.
"Lilyan…" She heard a distant voice. "Lilyan… Lilyan wake up!" Then she gasped opening her eyes. A cold chill ran down her spine. Her eyes darted towards the window and it was already bright outside.
Morning. She sighed.
"Ma." She sat up.
"You've caught cold, you should rest." She smiled patting Lilyan's head and pulling up the covers. "I'll prepare something to eat, you shouldn't eat something that's too heavy."
Lilyan could only nod. "What time is it?"
"It's ten o'clock, you passed out earlier. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Lilyan's mother asked in concern.
Lilyan shook her head, "No I'm alright. I might have troubled you greatly."
"Ha! Nonsense! Whom are you supposed to trouble if not your mother?" She chuckled standing up. "I'll go and make something to eat, now rest."
Once Lilyan's mother was out of her sight, Lilyan sighed heavily as she laid back down. She reached out to touch her neck and a hint of pain surged within her.
"I should have been dreaming, how come I could feel the pain from a dream?" She whispered to herself.
A lot of things seemed to have happened in one night.
That dream, the mist, the voice. Everything was rather foreign and confusing to Lilyan but something within her didn't make her afraid. Rather, she seemed very curious.
"Here." Lilyan's mother walked in a few minutes later, a bowl on the tray as she placed it next to Lilyan. It was a very hot porridge.
"Thank you Ma." Lilyan sat up before she took the bowl and started having a few mouthfuls. When she was about to swallow another mouthful, she felt the urge to vomit.
"What? What's wrong?" Lilyan's mother was already by her side, concern laced in her tone.
"I don't think I'll be able to finish this." Lilyan placed the spoon on the tray.
"It's alright, it's alright. Don't force yourself." She warmly told her daughter, taking the tray away.
Lilyan laid back down. She closed her eyes and something immediately flashed before her eyes. She screamed sitting up, fear building inside her. A cold chill ran down her spine and she clutched the blanket with her hands. A drop of blood spilled from her finger, making her drowsy.
"Is something wrong Lilyan?" Lilyan's mother walked in.
"I need to see the prophet mama." Her voice was soft and pleading.
Lilyan's mother went closer to the bed, her face a mask of concern, "Is there something wrong Lilyan?"
"I need to see the prophet." Lilyan muttered again.
Lilyan's mother nodded, rushing out of the bedroom without looking back. Lilyan remained seated, countless thoughts running through her mind.
Close to fifty minutes passed before Lilyan's mother appeared with an old woman whom she guided towards a chair. The old woman sat with a quiet dignity, her face a web of wrinkles and age spots that spoke of a life well-lived. Her eyes had dimmed with age, their whites turned a cloudy gray that seemed to hold a deep wisdom.
Though her sight had failed her, her gaze still held a piercing knowledge, as if she saw beyond the physical realm. Her silver hair was thin and wispy, framing her face like a halo of wisdom. Her skin was soft and papery, with a delicate tracery of veins visible beneath the surface.
Her hands, gnarled with age, held a worn wooden staff that seemed to be a part of her very being.
"You called?" The old woman's voice was low yet it held authority. She was looking at Lilyan like she could see her.
"Ma." Lilyan's eyes darted towards her mother, she didn't want to say anything in front of her mother.
Her mother understood the message as she smiled softly, heading towards the door whie saying, "I'll leave."
Once the door was shut closed, Lilyan looked at the woman. "I—I don't know what's happening but something happened to me recently. I—I woke up in a grave, it seemed I was buried inside then…" The old woman stood up with the help of her wooden stick and made his way towards Lilyan. "A lot if trials and broken strings. Too many broken strings, but someone dear. You've found your soulmate even though you met him later in life, and your destiny was written. Tribulations and trials await for you."
She closed her eyes for a while then she opened her eyes.
"Astraea, hear our plea! Erebus, grant us thy sight!Kaloria, mother of the land,Korvos, lord of the skies, unite! Hear our call, oh gods of old, As we seek thy guidance bold. In thy names, we conjure thee,T o grant us wisdom, strength, and destiny!" She whispered under her breath.
As soon as the old woman's wrinkled hand grasped hers, a searing pain shot through her palm, like a branding iron marking her skin. The prophetess gasped, her eyes widening in shock, as a vision burst forth in her mind's eye.
She retrieved her hand as she fell on the ground. "Oh! Cruel fate! Oh dire vision! The gods themselves did weep and mourn, as humanity succumbed to darkness born. Forgive me, gods for seeing this fate, I fall on my knees, my heart break! A call from the grave,a call from the grave! One cannot escape his fate. It shall be done!"
"What happened?" Lilyan remained confused.
"Not a God but not the descent of fire, the ruler of the four seas and the wielder of fire. You're called."
The old woman stood up, her eyes were casted down, not daring to look at Lilyan. "You don't belong to this world. The pain will never end until you fulfill your destroy. You should go back to the grave. Bear with it, let your heart heal." The old woman walked towards the door but before she could step out of the door, she fell down and her breathing immediately stopped.
"Mama!" Lilyan was terrified! She didn't know what to do.
Trars welled up and she cried in pain, she cried without stopping. She cried as long as she could while her mother called for the ambulance. When the body was taken away, a book written BOOK OF DEATH was by the table next to Lilyan. It was already dark outside.
She took the book, paging through the first page but a voice suddenly called for her.
"Lilyan…" Lilyan snapped her eyes towards the sound.
She kept searching for the voice which kept calling for her. Unconsciously, she got off the bed and followed the voice. Lilyan's feet moved without her conscious intent, her bare feet padding softly on the cold floor. She didn't realize she was walking, didn't notice the darkness outside, didn't feel the chill of the night air.
Her eyes were fixed on some unseen point ahead, her gaze drawn by an inexplicable force. She walked through the empty streets, her feet carrying her towards the cemetery. The gates creaked as she pushed them open, and she continued on, her pace steady and slow.
The grass was damp beneath her feet, the dew soaking her skin as she walked.
She stood before the grave that had her name engraved on it.
Without a single thought, pulled by strings and by the softness of the voice, she stepped inside the grave while the voice grew louder, more urgent, and she felt an inexplicable pull, as if her very soul was being summoned.
The second she was inside the grave, darkness welcomed her and the clock moved back in time.